"In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" (often referred to as simply "In Heaven") is a song performed by Peter Ivers, composed by
Peter Ivers, with lyrics by
David Lynch. The song is featured in Lynch's 1977 film Eraserhead, and was subsequently released on its
1982 soundtrack album.
Cover versions
The song's co-writer, Peter Ivers, recorded a version in the late 1970s, though it was not released until its inclusion on the 2019 album, Becoming Peter Ivers.[1]
Devo (sung by
Booji Boy) covered the song live in 1978-1979 as the penultimate song in their set.[2]
It was sung at the start of gigs by fans of psychobilly band
The Meteors. A recording of this features on the start of their debut 1981 album The Case of the Meteors in Heaven.
A cover by
Tuxedomoon with
Winston Tong was released in 1980 on the multiband live album Can You Hear Me? Music From The Deaf Club, and later rereleased on their 1987 album Pinheads on the Move. A different live version was also released on their 1989 Ten Years in One Night live album.[3]
Elements from the end of a
Cardiacs song called "A Time For Rejoicing" at the end of their 1981 independent album
Toy World specifically reference this song.[4]
Bauhaus covered the song on their regular set for their final UK tour in the summer of 1983 and was featured on the Rest in Peace: The Final Concert album. The band's former bassist,
David J, later performed "In Heaven" live as a duet with Pixies singer
Black Francis at a solo show at the Los Angeles
Echoplex in December 2009.[5]
It was covered by the
Pixies in 1987 for their initial demo tape and was later released in 2002 on the Pixies EP.[6] The band re-recorded the track for a session for
John Peel's
BBC radio show in May 1988, which was later released on the Pixies at the BBC album.[7] The song was a regular part of the Pixies' setlist, and a live version by the band appeared as a B-side of the
"Gigantic" single, and was also included on The Complete B-Sides album.[8]
American composer and producer
Keith Kenniff covered the song on his 2007 album Ayres, under his Helios moniker.
Metaform covered the song on his 2008 album "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" under the title "Heaven Can Wait".
Zola Jesus covered the song, retitled "Lady in the Radiator",[9] as part of the
David Lynch Foundation's "The Music of David Lynch" concert on April 1, 2015
Jazz guitarist
Julian Lage gave the song an instrumental treatment on his 2019 record, Love Hurts.
In 2019, indie pop band
AJR sampled "In Heaven" in their song "
Birthday Party" from their album Neotheater. The lines used were: "In Heaven, everything is fine. In Heaven, everything is fine. You've got your good things, and I've got mine."
The song is sampled by death metal band
Venom Prison at the end of their song Life Suffer from their 2020 album Primeval.
Swiss Jazz trumpeter
Erik Truffaz covered the song on his 2023 album Clap!, with vocals by
Bertrand Belin.
A reunited
Pantera used the original soundtrack version of the song prior to taking the stage at their 2023 concerts. While this could be viewed as an homage to the deceased Abbott brothers (
Dimebag Darrell &
Vinnie Paul), they used it as part of their intro as far back as 1994.
At The Wiltern in LA during a Mike Dean show The Weeknd came out and did a cover of this song March 1, 2024
Russian band Мы included a sample of this song in their song Восток и Запад (East and West).